Trash, Art, And The Movies
The podcast that pits arthouse cinema against brainless entertainment—and then declares a victor.

Erin and Paul review two films featuring the acting debuts of female pop stars... who went on to remain better known as singers. First, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, Susan Seidelman's 1985 screwball comedy starring Madonna as a hip female drifter who switches identities with a bored suburban housewife played by Rosanna Arquette; then, MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, Wong Kar-Wai's 2007 critical flop starring Norah Jones as a woman who rebounds from breaking up with her boyfriend by taking a series of waitressing and bartending jobs in Memphis and Las Vegas, and Jude Law as a dreamy café owner who pines after her back in New York. Personal ads that everyone reads, or postcards that nobody answers: which will prevail?

Plus: our quick takes on THE HUSTLER, JOHN WICK, STRETCH, and LISTEN UP PHILIP.

Direct download: TAATM_121__Desperately_Seeking_Susan_vs._My_Blueberry_Nights.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 10:16pm EDT

Paul and Erin review two films by Hong Kong gun-fu auteur John Woo. First: HARD BOILED, Woo's 1992 shoot-em-up starring Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung as a pair of cops who will stop at nothing to bring down a ruthless crime syndicate; then, FACE/OFF, Woo's gleefully preposterous 1997 blockbuster starring John Travolta as an FBI special agent who swaps faces and identities with a flamboyant international terrorist played by Nicolas Cage. An exploding hospital or a magnetic prison: which will prevail?

Plus: our quick takes on THE BOOK OF LIFE, MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, HORNS, and THE WOMAN CHASER.

Direct download: TAATM_120__Hard_Boiled_vs._Face_Off.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 12:52am EDT

TAATM #119: Ms. 45 vs. Sympathy For Lady Vengeance

Erin and Paul review two films about beautiful female vigilantes. First: MS. 45, Abel Ferrara's 1981 feminist exploitation classic about a meek, mute seamstress in New York's garment district who transforms into an angel of vengeance after a pair of violent sexual assaults; then, SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, Park Chan-Wook's stylish 2005 melodrama about a freshly paroled female prisoner with a complicated, long-gestating plan to get revenge on the man who actually committed the crime she was convicted of. Thick red lipstick or blood-red eyeshadow: which will prevail?

Plus our quick takes on GONE GIRL, THE BOXTROLLS, PLUSH, FOXCATCHER, and MAPS TO THE STARS.

Direct download: TAATM_119__Ms._45_vs._Sympathy_For_Lady_Vengeance.mp3
Category:TV and Film -- posted at: 9:55pm EDT